BUCKHANNON – The beginning of August always signals it’s bargain-hunting time in Buckhannon and Weston.
It’s that time of year again – time for West Virginia’s Largest Yard Sale, which began Friday, Aug. 2 and will last through 4 p.m. today, Saturday, Aug. 3 throughout the towns of Buckhannon and Weston.
Executive Director of the Upshur County Convention and Visitors Bureau Laura Meadows said the summer tradition is always popular and at an ideal time before school starts.
“It’s definitely a tradition, and we’re 20-plus years into it,” Meadows said. “People are getting ready to get back to school, so there are kids are going to college, so if everybody can find a good deal, that always helps.”
Meadows said the yard sale is popular among the locals of Buckhannon and even some people from out of state.
“We always joke you either love it or you hate it, but every single year, it’s amazing,” Meadows said. “The people are so excited about it, whether they’re locals or their people from all over. I think we got a call from Asheville, North Carolina just a little bit ago inquiring about it, so people are coming from all over the place.”
Loretta Mitz is one of those out-of-towners who comes to Buckhannon not to buy but to sell.
She said she’s sold wares at the yard sale three times, and she and her family have traveled from their home in Minvera, Ohio to do it.
“We always come back because we are from here and the people — the people are awesome, and we love meeting them,” Mitz said. “It’s always about them, and we get to see our family; it’s like our mini-vacation.”
North Carolina resident Michelle Rheinheimer said she is also originally from Buckhannon and decided to enjoy the yard sale while she was in town.
“We’re in for a family reunion, and the yard sale was going on at the same time, so we decided to see what we could find,” Rheinheimer said. “I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular but I found this painting I like so I’m not leaving empty-handed.”
Other participants like Kayla Sack were looking for something specific after having luck at the yard sale in the past.
“My husband sent me on a mission to find an air compressor,” Sack said. “I have not been successful yet, but I’ve kind of just been walking with the kids and letting them shop. I’ll stop at the ones that have toys, and then the next one I go to might have an air compressor.”
Shopper Catherine Fultz said she wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but her three-year-old daughter Ravenus was on the lookout for “glittery jewelry.”
“It’s a good day to meet people or run into people you like and just have fun,” Fultz said. “I’m not really looking for anything, but she has asked for some glittery jewelry, so if we find that too then that’s perfect.”
Carla Canfield and Sharon McNemar with the Philanthropic Educational Organization set up a yard sale in the Episcopal Church of Transfiguration’s lot to raise money for their organization.
“We are a women’s organization, and we raise money for scholarships for women,” Canfield said.
During their yard sale, they’ll also be selling tickets for a designer purse bingo that will take place Sept. 28 at the Brushy Fork Event Center at 1:30 p.m., and the Episcopal Church as well as Chapel Hill United Methodist Church are selling hot dogs during the yard sale.
